The Chicago Bears will try to finish their season on a strong note against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 17. This has been a disappointing season for the Bears but a win would still at least get them to .500. The Vikings are still slight favorites in this game, but Vegas is wrong in with this one. Let's break down four reasons the Bears will defeat Vikings on the road at US Bank Stadium.
4. Confidence
The confidence for both teams is something that is going to play a big role in this game. The Bears are coming off a loss, but they did win their last game against the Vikings earlier this year. Even though the offense wasn't great in that game, the defense was elite—giving up only six points. The Vikings have struggled historically against the Bears, and if the Vikings get out to a slow it could be something that creeps into the back of their head.
The Vikings are also coming off a blowout loss against the Green Bay Packers that a lot of the weaknesses for the Vikings were exposed.
4. Mitchell Trubisky
Mitchell Trubisky didn't have a great game in the last one against the Kansas City Chiefs, but he is still playing better now than he did at the beginning of the season. In two of the previous three games, Trubisky threw for at least 334 yards. Matt Nagy and Trubisky finally seem to be on the same page and that has led to better performance and play calling.
Trubisky has also had success against the Vikings in his career. Truibksy might not be the number one reason the Bears will win this game, but at least he won't be a weakness in this game, something that hasn't always been the case this year.
2. Bears pass rush
On the season the Bears have racked up 31 sacks and the Vikings offensive line is back to their terrible play. Kirk Cousins had no time against the Green Bay Packers which didn't allow the offense to push the ball down the field.
In this game, Khalil Mack and the rest of the Bears defense is going to spend most of the afternoon in the Vikings defense. Don't be surprised if the Bears have five or six games in this one.
1. Vikings motivation
The biggest reason for the Bears winning in this game actually has nothing to do with the Bears, and more to do with the Vikings. The Vikings can win this game by 60 points or lose this game by 60 points and they are still going to be the second NFC Wild Card spot and play the third seed in the playoffs.
The Vikings are banged up, and the last thing they want to do is suffer more injuries in this game. It wouldn't be shocking to see the Vikings treat this game like a preseason game and rest up their players.
The Bears should still be playing their starters and they should be able to have a lot of success against Sean Mannion and the rest of the backups.